1. The plaintiffs in O. S.130 of 1964 are the appellants. They instituted a suit for partition under the following circumstances. The first plaintiff is a member of a Nambudiri Illom called Mangattu Illom. Defendants 1 to 31 are members of the said Illom and the suit properties belong to the said Illom. The first plaintiff in 1105 married Narayanan Poti belonging to South Canara. He is admittedly a Thulu Poti. Plaintiffs 2 to 7 are the children of the first plaintiff by that marriage. The plaintiffs claim 7/38 shares in the plaint properties on the ground that in spite of the first plaintiff's marriage with Narayanan Poti she and her children continue to be the members of the Mangattu Illom and are therefore entitled to get 7/38 shares in the plaint properties because of the Kerala Nambudiri Act, 1958 (Act 27 of 1958). S.2 (b) of that Act defines Illom. S.2 (b) and the Explanation thereto are relevant and we shall extract them:

"In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

(a) ...

(b) 'illom' means all the members of a Nambudiri joint family with community of property and includes a 'mana'.

Explanation. A female shall on her marriage cease to be a member of the illom